The Pickle Jar
by SuprSingr
Summary: This story puts a HUGE twist on the original "Hey Arnold!" story line. What would have happened if ARNOLD had been the one to fall in love with Helga? Rated T for very minor hintings at certain things. Nothing major. On Hiatus.
1. Dreams and Dares

**A/N: **Just to be clear, I am not copying anyone's work, nor did I get the idea based off of anybody elses stories. I came up with the idea AGES ago, and have just gotten around to writing it because I'm afraid to say that someone else has posted a story scarily close to my original idea. This is still the idea, and nothing has changed from the original plot I came up with. This idea was very vaguely based off of the movie, "_Freaky Friday_", but is still an original idea that I came up with months prior, and I have a witness that would agree to all the following claims.

Also, I would like to point out that this story was pre-read by my own dear friend and partner in crime, **NintendoGal55**, who I would like to throw out a huge thanks to for all the feedback and support. :D

This all being said, go on and read the fruits of my labor already!

**Disclaimer: **I, _**SuprSingr**_, in no way claim to own the rights to "_Hey Arnold_!", and respect Viacom and Nickelodeon's rights to the series (That doesn't in any way mean I approve it). WE LOVE YOU, CRAIG!

* * *

_**"Hey Arnold!"**_

**The Pickle Jar**

**By _SuprSingr_**

_Helga stared down at the ground, her little arms dangling at her sides, now free of any lunch box filled with food she had to prepare herself... Her eyes didn't dare to well up with tears, though, as she knew that that showed weakness. Patakis didn't show weakness! ...At least, that's what Daddy always said._

_As she continued to walk, she felt the rain beat down harshly on her tender stature, making her feel cold and alone..._

_Suddenly, the rain was gone. Though she could still hear the pitter patter and splashing coming from all around her, it was no longer hitting her. She felt herself automatically look up, now seeing a light blue umbrella up above her, much different in contrast to all the grays and whites and blacks surrounding her._

_"Hi," She looked to her left at the greeting, now coming to see a blonde boy with a very oddly shaped head. "Nice bow." He continued with a smile._

_She blinked. "Huh?"_

_He smiled a bit brighter, stepping closer to her. "I like your bow, because it's pink like your pants." He elaborated brightly._

_She blinked again, before a small smile slowly spread itself across her face. She giggled, giving him a small punch in the shoulder. "Thanks. I like your..." She began, feeling that she should repay the kind boy, as she now searched across his form, causing a lovely shade of pink to now radiate off the boy's cheeks. She zeroed in on his hat, once again a very nice shade of blue that she felt truly made the rather depressing world around them look just a little bit brighter. She smiled a bit wider at this observation. "your hat."_

_He blinked, his eyes going upward in a vain attempt to see the thing she was talking about. "My hat?"_

_She nodded. "Uh-huh. I like it." She fluttered her eyelashes at him out of pure instinct, before bringing her attention back to the task at hand, and pushing the glass door to the pre-school open so she could enter._

_As Arnold stood in the rain, his umbrella held high above his head, he watched through the glass as Helga shook her head rapidly, her pigtails sending little droplets of water all around the area like slingshots. He watched as the droplets flew all around, giving her hair a certain kind of sheen, he felt he couldn't look away. Finally, as Helga finished, she looked down at herself in disgust at seeing all the mud on her pink overalls. She pouted a moment, and he couldn't help but find the look adorable. After a moment, she looked around, before seeming to find a bathroom down a hall, and making her way towards it, and slowly out of sight._

_Arnold stayed planted to the spot a minute more, feeling bolted to the ground, his heart pounding, his face flushed. His eyes slowly had begun to fall half-lidded, and he soon found himself stumbling through the entrance, waving goodbye to a strangely smiling grandfather, and hanging up his umbrella, rain coat, and boots._

_About the time he had finished taking off his boots and setting them neatly beside each other, he heard a door open and close. He felt his head instantly snap to the direction out of instinct, only to see a now clean little girl in bright pink overalls, her sunshine hair up in pigtails, and her matching pink bow perched proudly a top her sweet little head. She smiled at him, offering a short wave of recognition, before passing him by completely and entering into the play room of the preschool. He stared after her, his eyes a little wide as he leaned over to try and see her better as she walked off. In his leaning, he soon found himself falling over from being so unbalanced. He let out a short yelp, before finding himself on his back, the hand that just happened to still be gripping his little yellow rain boot still gripping tight, even tighter now as his heart had started fluttering like mad._

_What was wrong with him?_

* * *

_Later on, he still found himself staring at her more and more. Every few seconds he'd feel himself glance over in her direction, almost involuntarily. It was now snack time, and he watched her with rapt attention, as she chatted with the small Asian girl sitting next to her. Her eyes would light up every five seconds, and then he'd watch her lips move as she chatted on, just a bit animatedly. He felt himself getting more and more interested in her lips. His grandma had told him that you gave kisses to people you loved. For whatever reason, the idea of getting a kiss from her seemed to be all that he had on his mind. He found himself really wanting her to like him. If she kissed him - That would mean she liked him, right? He knew he liked her... so... Maybe they could like eachother together? That seemed really appealing to him for whatever reason._

_He saw her reach over to pick up one of her crackers, still looking at her new little friend and talking as she did so absently, but right before her hand could make contact with the plate, it got swiped away from her. Arnold blinked, watching as she looked down and saw that her plate was gone. She heard laughing, and looked over to some big boned boy, stuffing his face with her snacks and laughing cruelly, open mouthed as he chewed - A very grotesque sight, if anyone asked Arnold, and by the disgusted and horrified look on the young girl's face, it seemed she would agree._

_He felt a frown slowly dig itself into his face as he saw her bottom lip quiver ever so slightly, and if he didn't know any better, he'd say that there were tears in her eyes... They were sparkling an awful lot... making her pretty blue eyes seem even more captivating... Though these distracting thoughts didn't change the fact that she seemed very sad. He looked down at his own plate, seemingly abandoned as he'd been too distracted with admiring the sweet girl across the room to remember that he even had a snack to begin with. He looked back up at her then, now picking up his own plate and walking over to her. _

_He saw her look over in his direction now with slightly questioning, sad blue eyes, and he stopped, momentarily forgetting completely about his mission, lost in her eyes. He shook his head then, ridding himself of such thoughts (For now) and finally finishing his small trek over to her. He offered a small, tentative smile, holding his plate out to her in offering. She shifted her eyes down to it, blinking in slight bewilderment. He smiled nervously, holding it out a bit closer to her. "Want mine?" He managed weakly, his free hand held behind his back self-consciously._

_She looked back up into his gentle green eyes, searching for any kind of deceit. Finding none, she felt herself smile ever so slightly, and nod, taking his plate. "Yeah. Thanks."_

_He felt himself grin, his mind blank for words, he simply nodded, backing away from her slowly._

_He heard strange smacking noises then, and he blinked, coming out of his stupor to look over and see the same large boy making kissy noises at him and attempting to imitate the same goofy grin and stupid incessant nodding. Arnold felt his entire face go crimson, and he looked back at Helga to see her giggling also, but still giving him the same friendly eyes. He felt his heart speed up once again, and had to stop the affectionate look from coming to his face from how cute she looked when she laughed. In realizing just how hard this task was, he gulped, now fleeing out of the play room completely._

_He hid behind the wall right beside the doorway leading back to the room that concealed the very distracting girl. His heart fluttering and his pulse racing, he concluded to himself that he was going to have to be much more careful in hiding these new found feelings now jumbled up inside of his young and very confused heart._

_He slowly, carefully, inched his head over to peak through the doorway to get another look at the enchanting creature. He saw her there, giggling up a storm over whatever, her much shorter, Asian buddy seeming just as amused by whatever it was they were talking about. He felt his gaze go half-lidded as he continued to gaze at her, his head pounding with new thoughts and ideas as his tiny heart beat erratically in his ears._

_What was that word that Grandma and Grandpa always said to eachother? Dove, Glove, Shove...?_

_Love._

_He grinned, the word sounding so strange and yet so RIGHT in describing the situation._

_"Love..." He repeated it out loud, the word rolling off his tongue with ease. His eyes shine. "Love... I... I love you." He giggled a little, tucking himself away in the shadows once again to fully enjoy his new little discovery._

* * *

_**Present Day**_

A ten-year-old Arnold Shortman sped across the pavement on his skateboard with ease, his long time best friend, Gerald Johanson, hot on his trail. He looked ahead with determination, ducking down slightly to go a bit faster. He glanced back briefly to see that his opponent was catching up. That wouldn't do, now would it?

He ducked down even lower, grabbing the front of his board and doing a little jump to try and intimidate his opponent. He smirked, looking over at the dark African American. To his slight terror, the boy only smirked back in challenge, and then performed a perfect 3/60, and then gave him a carefree, half-lidded smile as if it was the easiest thing in the world for him to do.

Arnold squinted his eyes back at him, sticking his tongue out in determination as he got ready to do another trick - When a sudden flash of pink and gold caught his eye, and he turned his head quick to stare right back into two very beautiful blue eyes. His mind blanched, and he stared, almost completely forgetting that he was on a very fastly moving skateboard in the first place. As he stood and stared into the two very amused, yet intoxicatingly beautiful eyes like the idiot he knew he was, he didn't even register that he was about to hit something until the pair of eyes he was staring into suddenly changed from amused to alarmed. He absently wondering what the sudden change in mood was about, until-

"OW!" He yelped, suddenly finding himself on the ground and his skateboard now underneath one leg as his other one rested just underneath the bumper of the parked car. In finally realizing what had happened, he looked up instantly to make sure there were no bumps or scrapes on the car's rear. Once confirming that the back of the car that he'd hit was perfectly fine, his ears suddenly registered an _angelic voice_ calling to him...

"_Arnold_!"

And then there was... Eh, some other more male-like, rough voice coming from a small distance. He didn't really care too much. He just wanted to hear more of that other voice.

His wish was granted. "Arnold!" A pair of alarmed and incredulous (And yet also slightly amused) upside down eyes were suddenly staring down at him. His eyes widened as she came closer down to him. Was she going to-to kiss him or-

He felt her arms come up from under his arms, pulling him upright. He winced slightly, feeling his elbow stinging slightly.

The angel seemed to notice his look of pain. She smirked slightly. "Yeah, well, that's what happens when you don't keep your eyes on the road, Bucko."

"Arnold, man!" Gerald suddenly came up, his board under his arm. He threw it down carelessly, staring down at his bruised (Though silently elated) friend. "What the heck was that?"

Helga laughed, her hand resting on his shoulder. He stared at it absently, reveling in his soft, gentle, and yet still firm feel. Helga simply continued, though. "Well, the demolition crew here," She patted Arnold's shoulder. "forgot to keep his eyes on the prize and instead of knocking the _building_ down, ended up knocking _HIMSELF_ down." She snickered.

Gerald gave his friend an incredulous look, and Arnold simply averted his eyes from his friend, instead now contently gazing down at the concrete.

Helga finished her snickering rather quickly, and then gave Arnold a firm pat on the back, lowering her head down to look him in the eye from behind (Causing a hopefully not too obvious blush to rise in his cheeks). She smiled more softly at him, her kinder side shining through now. "But really, though, are you okay?"

Arnold stared back into her eyes, his mind desperately trying to find words to answer her question despite the fierce urge to press his lips to her own tantalizingly pink ones that were so very close to his own... He answered quietly, distractedly, "Uh... yeah..."

Helga grinned, standing back up straight all too soon, as he found himself blinking in confusion. Gerald helped him to his feet as Helga continued on with what she was now saying, "Well, anyway, I've actually been looking around for you guys. Everyone's heading down to Gerald Field to play some baseball." The two boys noticed then that she was indeed wielding a wooden bat in her left hand. She continued with a slight smile and a half-lidded gaze, "The sixth graders are all on some big, weekend sized field trip all today and tomorrow, so we don't have to worry about them either. We've got to embrace the opportunity! So you guys coming?"

Gerald grinned, opening his mouth to agree whole-heartedly when-

"We can't, but thanks."

He deflated instantly, looking at Arnold with questioning eyes, but all he got in return was a flinchy, nervous expression back and an only slightly reassuring smile.

Helga blinked, also seeming to deflate slightly, before she regained her cocky, confident posture and shrugged. "Okay. See you guys later." She walked off.

Arnold stared after her, leaning over the back side of the car to stare after her until she was out of sight. Finally, once she was completely gone, he finally came to feel eyes on him. He blinked, turning his head slowly to his friend who was now giving him a very amused and mocking look. Gerald smirked at him. "Dude, why can't we go?" Though he knew in the back of his head what the answer was, it had become routine to ask, so he did.

Arnold fidgeted in his spot a bit uncomfortably, bending down to pick up his skateboard. "You know why, Gerald." He answered him quietly as he began off in the opposite direction as Helga.

Gerald fell into step beside him easily. "Yeah, yeah, I know." He gave him a half-lidded knowing, yet dry look. "It's because SHE'LL be there."

Arnold simply nodded, his eyes focused ahead as they walked.

Gerald let out a exasperated sigh through his mouth, as he slumped forward slightly, staring over at his friend. "And refresh my memory, _WHY_ can't you just tell her you're crazy about her again?"

Arnold frowned, his eyes going down to the sidewalk now, contently studying the cracks as he stepped over each one carefully. "Because she doesn't like me like that." He mumbled out, kicking a bottle cap across the street now as they crossed the road.

Gerald folded his arms over his chest, quirking his mouth to one side as he stared at his friend dryly. "And how exactly do you know this, buddy?"

Arnold frowned a bit deeper now, feeling a growl rising up from his throat. "Because she likes that **stupid** _Lyle _guy..." He grit his teeth.

Gerald blinked in surprise at his answer, his eyes wide open now. He'd forgotten about Lyle... HOW could he have FORGOTTEN about LYLE? He frowned to himself, digging his hands into his pockets sheepishly. "Oh yeah... Sorry."

Arnold just nodded, his eyes expressing a deep hatred as he kicked the very same bottle cap a bit harder now, his every action and expression showing bitterness.

"You know," Gerald began after a few moments of silence. "She'd probably give you a chance if you just-"

"Gerald..." Arnold began, more harshly than he'd intended. He cleared his throat, attempting to get his mind out of his angry thoughts. "Look, we both know that I've been crazy in love with her since preschool, and since all that time, she's shown no interest in me whatsoever. No matter what I do. I mean, I'm as nice as I can possibly be to her, I hold doors open for her, I pull her chair out for her, I even manage to talk to her without stuttering every couple of months, and yet all she's ever done is give me a 'thanks' in response, or an amused smile before walking away. I think it's pretty clear that if I admitted to her that she's practically my entire reason for living, she'd probably do her best to avoid me for the rest of her life. I mean, the hiding behind trash cans and in alleys just to get a glance at her, the doodles in my notebook and on my tests that Mr. Simmons keeps telling me I'm going to need to stop even though he should know fully well I CAN'T, the staring at her all through class, the being completely devoted to one person for seven years!" He stopped himself, as his breathing had become very hard and quite frantic. He gulped, pressing his back against the building behind him for support. "This can't be healthy, can it?" He let his head fall back against the wall behind him, and he closed his eyes, finishing, "But my point is, if she likes me as much as you've told me she does, wouldn't she have shown some kind of sign by now? I've sure as heck shown a lot of signs. I wouldn't be surprised if the entire 5th grade class knew that I was in love with her. Always blushing like a fool around the poor angel..."

Gerald stared at his friend sympathetically, having been used to his usual outbursts of emotion after so many years of unrequited love. It truly did do a number on the poor boy. He was a very reserved person, always keeping his distance from the girl in knowing that he'd probably end up mauling her if he got too close. It scared Gerald how someone as innocent and gentle as Arnold could turn into such a desperate, passionate person when it came to matters of the heart. He truly did show just about every sign in the book when it came to liking that girl - He blushed, he grinned, he stuttered, he tripped, he stumbled, he stared, he sniffed, he caressed, he hyperventilated, and so much more! It seemed no one was more obvious in their affections than poor Arnold. He was always such an open and honest boy, so hiding such strong feelings always was a great difficulty for him. And Gerald didn't doubt that just about everyone knew - Well, except MAYBE Helga. She did seem to give Arnold some pretty knowing looks whenever she caught him staring at her. He wouldn't be surprised if she did actually know. Though she never said anything.

And of course, there was always Lyle Sawyer standing in the way of the two. Poor Helga had been under his spell for months now, ever since he moved in from Pleasantville. Arnold had already expressed his deep hatred of the boy on several occasions, giving the boy a very disapproving, nasty look in the hallways. Everyone knew that Lyle knew fully well of Helga's affections (As well as about every other girl in the class'), and they'd even gone out for a few fleeting (Yet very miserable for poor Arnold) days before Lyle had up and decided he just didn't like her that way. Helga had been devastated, truly devastated, but Arnold had been there to give her some of his usual comforting (If not very stuttery) advice on how maybe he just wasn't the one and how she should just move on. Of course, Helga was a very stubborn girl, and had proclaimed her feelings for Lyle out-front and assured anyone and everyone (Including a very horrified Arnold) that they were very simply meant to be, and Lyle would realize that when the gods deemed it to be time.

Arnold had become very bitter on the subject, his heart filling up with hatred and jealousy at the mere mention of the boy's name. He didn't just hate him because he was the holder of his love's affections, but also because he didn't ever act upon them, even though he KNEW he had them. Arnold believed something as precious as Helga's affections to be a rare and beautiful treasure, so the fact that the foolish boy didn't appreciate them at all and could so easily disregard them made him sick. Helga had never liked a boy that long before, nor had she ever been as dedicated. Though Gerald knew it made Arnold want to both chop Lyle up into smithereens and curl up in a corner and die, he never acted upon either desires (As far as he knew).

But as far back as the tall haired boy could remember, his poor best friend had been madly in love with Helga Pataki, constantly drooling over her picture and whatnot. The poor boy was definitely _**the** worst_ at hiding his affections. It had only taken Gerald a few seconds of staring at his friend staring at the girl adoringly for him to register with his small, toddler brain that he was as smitten as a young three-year-old could be. And as time had progressed, his feelings had only become more and more intense and much more mature with the years.

Indeed, Arnold had conceded almost immediately at being called out by the darker boy that he was in love with the young golden haired 'angel' as he often referred to her as. Admitting that he admired her for not only how 'pwetty' she was, but how she seemed to have this amazing life in her eyes that Arnold, even at a young age, had a deep hunger for. He'd also admitted that he'd loved her almost at first sight, telling of how his heart had started fluttering and his stomach had filled up with butterflies and how, despite the cold wetness from all around them, he'd felt considerably warm around the adorable girl he'd come to love so much.

And now, seven years later, that very same love that had put such a radiant light in the young boy's eyes, was now seeming to drain all the life out of him. It was true that love had the power to be a very beautiful thing... but it also had the power to destroy a person, and Gerald hated to see such a passionate love consume his best friend so mercilessly. If only that darned girl could see what she was missing out on. Arnold had become a very modest boy, often shying away from most people now, so no one really knew of the kind hearted boy with a very giving and generous heart that was buried deep within him. If Helga could only see that boy, Gerald was sure that...

Arnold opened his eyes then, quickly wiping the few tears that had run down his face, and beginning to walk down the sidewalk again, not meeting Gerald's eyes now. "Never mind..." He muttered, hanging his head down as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

Gerald frowned.

Something clearly needed to be done.

* * *

"So, Helga..." Rhonda began with a smirk. "How does it feel to have poor Arnold so crazy about you?" All the girls in the room giggled.

Helga raised one side of her eyebrow at the group, wondering why she'd allowed Phoebe to drag her to this blasted slumber party... Slumber party... Yeah, right. More like lumber party, she thought to herself, rolling her eyes. "It's okay." She shrugged non-committedly, smoothing out her rich, pink night gown.

Rhonda raised an eyebrow at her, leaning forward on the pillow she was sitting on. "Oh, really...? You know he's been head over heels _for years_ now. Aren't you going to do something about it already?"

Helga stared at the dark haired girl boredly, now examining her nearly non-existent nails (Due to years of biting them) with interest. "Nah. I mean, what am I supposed to do? He's an okay guy, I guess, but we all know that I'm firmly commit ed to-"

"A boy who doesn't even LIKE you."

Helga cut her eyes at the smirking girl, the backs of her hands now resting on her hips. "He'll come around. He's just in denial, that's all. He's got commitment issues." She shrugged. "But we're meant for each other, so no worries."

"And what about Arnold?" Nadine asked then.

Helga yawned, feeling a bit tired now. She scratched her upper arm absent-mindedly. "I don't know. He's got to give up sometime, right? He'll get the clue. But he's such a sweet boy, I really don't want to hurt his feelings. I mean, he's-"

"He's too quiet."

"Too low on the food chain."

"He's an orphan, for Heaven's sakes!"

"He's so poor."

"His wardrobe is a catastrophe!"

"Have you seen his grades? He's a total nerd!"

"I feel bad for him."

"Me too."

Rhonda put a hand to her heart as she spoke dramatically, "The poor boy only really has one thing keeping him going." She looked to Helga. "You."

Helga flushed indignantly, throwing a pillow at Rhonda's face. "I get it, I get it! I'm not heartless! That's why I haven't rejected him just yet. He's so obviously in love with me, always has been. I really feel for the poor guy. So quiet, always sitting in his little corner with Geraldo and making googly eyes at me. I just don't know what to do! I mean, he's a nice enough boy, but I..." She shrugged a bit, a melancholy look on her face. "Well, I don't really know all that much about him, but there's never seemed to be much to know about him at all other than that he's nice and really shy. I might as well date a rock, you know? But I can't just reject him like that. I need a more gentle approach, and until I figure it out, nobody talk about it, or him. You're reasons for me not liking him are ridiculous anyway. I mean, 'poor'? Please, like I care. And 'bad wardrobe', come on Rhonda, you think EVERYONE has a horrible wardrobe. And just because he has good grades it doesn't make him a nerd. Phoebe makes even higher grades than him, and she's not a nerd... that much. And last but not least, 'he's an orphan'. Ugh. Please. I might as well be an orphan too with how Bob and Miriam don't even glance at me when I pass them by." She rolled her eyes, her arms crossed firmly over her chest.

The room fell quiet, Rhonda staring at her for a good while before a smirk slowly spread itself across her face. "A match made in Heaven!" She declared, clapping her hands as all the other giggling girls joined in spiritedly.

Helga rolled her eyes, laying down now and pulling her blanket over her head. "The only match for me is Lyle, thank you very much. He's so kind and sweet and giving... I'll never find anyone out there better." She mumbled to herself, managing to finally hone out all the laughter and cheers coming from all around her.

* * *

From across the city, a certain football headed boy was now laying in his bed, staring up at the stars through his sky light. He gazed at them with wonder, a picture of Helga held lovingly against his chest. He raised the picture up a bit so he could look at it, feeling his heart spring with warmth and contentment.

He knew he loved her, he loved her with everything he had. And for someone with as big a heart as him, and in having so few to give some of his love to (His grandparents and his best friend being the first and nearly only to come to mind), she had just about all of it. He knew he'd always love her too, since his one vain attempt in getting over her. Lyle's own sister actually showed interest in him for a few brief days, and he'd truly tried his hardest to feel something back - But he found he couldn't. She just didn't have the same drive, the same spirit, the same passion as Helga. And the entire time he was with her he'd found himself wishing more and more that her green eyes were blue, her auburn hair gold, her pale green dress instead a bright, powerful pink. He felt haunted by that angelic girl, trapped in some incessant game with her constantly circling around his heart, so close to it but never touching. Helga...

He sighed, giving the photo a kiss before tucking it away under his pillow, along with the picture of his lost parents... Not that he even wanted to think about THAT. His obsession with Helga often gave him a distraction from thinking of his parents... and also everything else, it seemed. He still remembered the one time Gerald had apparently been talking to him for an hour and a half while he was too busy staring at Helga sipping her milkshake over at Slausens across the street from his window to even notice. Gerald hadn't been pleased... at all.

Arnold couldn't help but snicker slightly at the memory of Gerald giving him that sincerely ticked off look. He rolled over in his bed, pulling the covers up over him more as he very slowly began to drift off to sleep, thoughts of what it must be like to be Lyle flooding his mind.

He knew without a doubt, that if HE had Helga's devoted affections like that, he'd return them whole-heartedly without hesitation.

He snorted slightly in his sleep.

Like Helga was ever actually going to like him...

He frowned in his sleep.

Eh, maybe someday he'd get lucky.

* * *

"I dare you to be his girlfriend for a week."

Instantly, Sugar Chunks and milk spewed out from the girl's mouth, luckily all landing back into her own bowl once again. She choked then, pounding her fist against her chest in panic.

Rhonda simply continued unfazed, "You know, I'm rather curious to find out what would happen between the two of you. How long it would take dear Arnold to try and plant one on you."

Helga pounded her fist into her stomach, once, twice, thrice, until finally the small sugar chunk that was previously lodged in her throat jettisoned across the room, ironically pinging right into the silver trash can across the dining room.

Rhonda blinked a bit dully, staring over at the trash can. "Nice shot." She complimented absently, earning a short glare from the pigtailed girl, though she ignored it. "I mean, how long would it take him to try and make out with you? I'm a bit curious as to exactly how forward our modest little Arnold can be."

Helga shook her head rapidly, waving her arms dismissively. "Absolutely not. No way. Not in a million years!" She stood up gruffly, grabbing her bowl of cereal and making her way into the kitchen.

That is until, something stopped her in her tracks... "You know, Helga, it would probably make Lyle just soooooo jealous to see you with another boy."

Helga blinked, slowly turning around and giving the girl an unsure, yet clearly interested look.

Rhonda took it as cue. "Yes, just think of it. It really is the perfect plan. You start showing interest in a boy who is so OBVIOUSLY mad about you and who'd be willing to marry you on the spot, and Lyle will start realizing that you truly do have other _options_."

Helga, now fully turned around, took on a very pensive and interested look. The idea of Lyle watching Arnold as he proclaimed his undying adoration of her, glowing green with envy and heated jealousy, sent her heart into a wild flutter. She sighed a bit dreamily, imagining him coming over and pushing Arnold out of the way so he could beg her to take him back.

Rhonda smiled at her look, adding in just in case she tried to back out, "Plus, you ARE the Queen of Pranks, and as Queen of Pranks, you must not EVER refuse a dare unless you want to resign your position as Queen." She took a bite of her cereal, as all the other girls watched with interested expressions.

That did it.

Helga held her hand out from across the table to the girl, determination set in her stunning blue eyes.

"You've got yourself a deal, Princess."

* * *

Arnold whistled the tune to one of his favorite Jazz records, gazing into the lovely face of his beloved as he walked down the sidewalk without a care. It was days like this that he truly treasured. So quiet... serene... such a friendly environment... his favorite picture of his most loved one... and not a care in the-

"Hey, Arnoldo, how's it going?"

"HELGA!" Arnold screeched, fumbling desperately to get his photo of her back into his little blue hat. He breathed frantically in panic, giving her a wide-eyed stare as she just smiled smoothly at him from where she stood. He stared at her, sunlight reflecting off her hair, blue eyes shining, smile radiant, flowing pink dress as flattering as could be, and pink bow tying her whole look together perfectly. He knew his mouth was hanging open, but he really didn't care at the moment as he stared at her. _'How can anyone be so beautiful...?_' He thought absently, staring into her wonderful face as she gave him one of her all too famous smirks, his frantic and panicked breathes settling more and more with each second.

Helga blinked twice, staring down at his lovestruck expression. _'Oh, boy... he's got it **bad**_...' She shook her head slightly, before snapping her fingers in front of his face. "Earth to Shortman. Do you read?"

Arnold blinked, finally coming out of his lovesick state. He shook his head to clear it, and offered a very small, shaky smile. "Uh..." He gulped, finding it much easier to talk to her shoes. "Hey, Helga." _'Such a pretty name_...'

Helga smirked a bit, bringing her finger down to his chin and bringing his head back up so she could see his eyes. She simply smiled at his surprised and almost dizzy looking expression. "So, like I was saying, how's it going?"

"Uh..." He stared at her, his face so close to hers, her finger under his chin (TOUCHING HIM!), his mind blank. He swallowed a little, smiling a bit of a loopy smile at her. "Fine..." He said affectionately.

She couldn't help but giggle at that cute look in his eyes. She'd never actually gotten this close to him before, so it was pretty interesting to see how he was reacting. Though she truly didn't understand WHY she got all the freaks and weirdos and strangely quiet ones to like her so much: There was Brainy, Arnie, Lyle for a short time (Though he was just a little quiet and definitely NOT a freak or weirdo) and **then** there was Arnold. _Poor little Arnold_. She shook her head a little at him, bringing his face just slightly closer with her finger. "Are you sure about that...?" She asked quietly, giggling inwardly.

His gaze half-lidded, his mind clouded over, he simply grinned at her and assured her softly, "Of course I'm sure, my sweet little-"

Helga stood up abruptly then, effectively spoiling the mood and bringing Arnold out of his loopy thoughts. He blinked a few times, feeling a bit dizzy, as he looked to her with slightly questioning green eyes. What the heck had just happened?

Helga resisted the urge to giggle uncontrollably at his confused expression, and linked her arm with his, much to his surprise. "So anyway, Arnold, I was hoping you could spare a few minutes of your very busy schedule to let me ask you something."

Arnold blinked, his mind screaming into every nerve in his body that she was very willingly TOUCHING HIM! ...AGAIN! "Uh, s-sure, Helga." _'Good job, Arnold! You finally managed to make words!_'

Helga smiled in his direction, holding onto his arm a bit tighter. "Great! Now you see, it's a very simple question. Do you think you can answer it for me?"

He gave her a small smile, shrugging his shoulders slightly. "W-Well, I can try."

"Perfect!" Helga praised, now stopping them right near an alley. She sat herself on a box, forcing Arnold to do the same next to her. "You like me, don't you?" She dead panned, giving him a knowing look.

Arnold's eyes popped open as wide as possible, and his jaw nearly fell to the ground. After a few moments of mental panic, he pulled at his collar, laughing nervously, as he muttered out, "W-Well, who DOESN'T like you, Helga? I mean, you're friends with a-a lot of people and-"

"No, Arnold, I meant REALLY like me, and you know it. Don't try and lie."

Arnold winced at her all knowing tone. _'I should have known she'd know. She is an angel, after all_..." He turned to her, expecting to see two disapproving and rejecting blue eyes, but instead what he saw were two very open and accepting ones. His mind blanched another moment (As it often did), before he managed to get his mind back finally and answer her without hesitation, "I love you with every fiber of my being."

She fell silent, as he stared at her blank face adoringly, wanting so badly to prove his admission to her with a kiss.

After a few more moments of him having to hold himself back from jumping her, she finally spoke, "I know."

He took her hand, feeling it pointless to hide his affections now that they were out in the open. "How did you find out?" He questioned quietly, busying himself with kissing up her arm.

Helga frowned a little, swiping her arm from his grasp before he could kiss it any further. "Well, it WAS kind of obvious."

Arnold smiled at her sweetly, scooting himself closer to her on the box and desperately trying to find out what she smelled like. "How so?" He asked softly, straightening out her sleeve affectionately and giving it a quick sniff.

Helga frowned a bit deeper at his very forward actions, scooting herself just a bit away from the smitten boy. "Well, you stared an awful lot, for one, and you didn't even bother to look away when I looked back at you."

He scooted closer to her once again, twirling one of her locks of hair around his finger and admiring it's soft feel. "Yeah, well, I guess I kind of figured the cat was out of the bag around the eighth or tenth time you caught me, so I just gave up on the whole thing." He gave her a loving smile. "You're really observant, you know."

Helga shifted uncomfortably in her seat, nodding her head slightly. "Yeah, I guess." She cleared her throat rather loudly when she felt his hand start to run through one of her pigtails. "Okay!" She clapped her hands together, standing up from the boxes completely and standing over the boy, casting a shadow in an attempt to show who was dominant in this situation. "But as I was saying, how would you like a little proposition?"

Arnold blinked at her curiously. "What kind of proposition, Helga?"

Helga smiled contently, her hands on her hips. _'Finally we're back on track_.' "Well, my little love bug," He blushed insanely at the name, though she just continued on, "how would you like ME to be _your_ girlfriend?"

Arnold's mind blanched once again at this question, his eyes glazing over for a moment before he finally blinked himself out of his stupor and took her hand in both of his. "Do you really have to ask such a silly question?" He smiled.

Helga nodded, allowing him to hold her hand since he seemed to not have any intention of doing something weird with it. "Good point. But the specifics of the deal is that I'm giving YOU a chance finally, since it's always been so clear that you're crazy about me. So you've got a week to impress me, basically." She shrugged, not really caring to elaborate any further. Rhonda had come up with the whole plan, so she really didn't care that much.

Arnold blinked, staring up at her with his mouth slightly open. "So... I only get a week of having you as my girlfriend...? And what happens once the week is up?"

Helga shrugged, her free arm now dangling at her side and her expression almost seeming bored. "Well, I guess if I like you enough to continue on in our relationship once the week is up, we'll do just that. I'll be your girlfriend still, only more officially."

Arnold grinned. "So that means that there's a chance that this entire thing could end up with us eventually getting married and having kids and growing old together?"

Helga gave him a strange look, taking a small step back. "Uh... sure..." She said slowly, raising one side of her eyebrow at him.

Arnold smiled, giving her hand a firm kiss before standing up in front of her. "Well..." He bit his lip, weighing his options. End up committing suicide over the woman he loves, or get a chance to finally get a taste of what it's like to have Helga as his girlfriend... He put a hand to his chin momentarily, before he grinned at her and took a step forward. "It's a deal. Do I, um..." He began, beginning to get back some of his more characteristic shyness. "Do I get to kiss you?"

Helga blinked at him. No, actually, she didn't want her first kiss to be with someone she barely knew and hardly even liked, she wanted it to be with Lyle. Sweet, wonderful _Lyle_. She caught herself about to sigh dreamily, before coming to see Arnold's shy and anxious face staring at her. She bit her lip briefly. "Um, how about a kiss on the cheek for now?" She turned her head so her cheek was facing out toward him. Arnold smiled, giving her a tender kiss on the cheek. Hey, it was better than nothing.

He pulled away from her after that moment, giving her a bashful look before his emotions couldn't take it anymore and he hugged her, nuzzling his head up against her. "Thank you so much, Helga! I promise you won't regret this."

Helga blinked, his blonde tuffs of hair getting all up in her face. She coughed a bit, squirming a bit to try and get out of his embrace. After a few moments, she finally managed to break away and dragged a hand across her nose to relieve it of it's slight itch. Her nose twitched a bit, as she looked over at the grinning boy, a blush still fully set on his cheeks. She sighed lightly, offering a small, if not a bit tired smile. "We'll see how things go." She shrugged, grabbing him by the wrist and beginning to lead him back down the sidewalk, out of the alley. "So anyway, Hot Shot, ya hungry?"

Arnold opened his mouth to reply, but a rumble from his stomach interrupted him, and he put his free hand on his stomach then, blushing at the girl.

Helga simply chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes. Ya up for PB&J?"

Arnold froze, his eyes wide. Helga felt him halt, and stopped also, turning around to give him a questioning glance. Arnold gulped. "Y-Y-You mean... at your... house?" He squeaked.

Helga blinked, raising one side of her eyebrow at the strange reaction. "Well, yeah. Where else?" She stared at him a moment, before continuing, "If you're worried about my parents, don't be. They drove over to Toronto last night to see my sister dance or something." She shrugged with a blank look. "So we'll have privacy."

Arnold's pupils dilated. "So we'll be in your house... a-alone... together?"

Helga blinked again, becoming a bit annoyed now. She pulled on his wrist again, now forcing him down the sidewalk, which wasn't too big of a problem since his legs had suddenly become jelly. "Yeah, it's not a big deal. You do like PB&J, right? You're not allergic or anything?" She looked back at him, still dragging him down the sidewalk.

Arnold just shook his head weakly, his eyes still wide and his stomach bursting with butterflies at the idea of actually being in her house.

Helga nodded. "Good."

* * *

Soon they were on her stoop, Helga lifting up the mat to pick up a key and unlocking the door, as Arnold stood beside her, his pulse increasing more and more with the second.

Helga threw the door open then, carelessly plopping the key in her pocket and dragging Arnold in by his hand.

As soon as they were inside, Helga shut the door and began wandering over into the kitchen. "Make yourself at home. That's what I try to do." She muttered to him before she was out of sight.

Arnold stood bolted to the floor, his eyes skimming across the carpet, the stairs, and now the walls. He walked up to one picture, seeming to be a family portrait... except Helga wasn't in it. Come to think of it, none of these pictures were of Helga at all, were they? Well, some did have her standing mindlessly in the background, but other than that, none of these were just of Helga. Arnold felt his eyes darken, remembering all the rumors he'd heard of Helga's home life. How Helga's own father even called her 'Olga', which he knew to be the name of her sister, who, if he heard right, seemed to get some kind of special treatment.

Arnold felt a protective growl rise up in his throat, suddenly feeling like this environment was suffocating him. Memories of neglect and sadness bouncing off the brightly painted walls. How could anyone ignore her? She was a freakin' angel! She practically glowed, for Heaven's sakes! ...Or was that just him?

These thoughts made him sick, his appetite flying out the window along with a good chunk of his heart.

He stumbled his way into the kitchen, watching as Helga made two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as if she'd been doing it her whole life. She probably had been, the poor thing. He felt his eyes well up with tears, standing in the doorway and watching silently as she finished up the sandwiches and licked her fingers clean. So cute. The urge to marry her now was overwhelming (Not that it hadn't always been). He knew married people usually got their own house, away from their parents. Wouldn't that make her happy?

He contemplated this a moment, before shaking his head. Nah, he couldn't afford the ring she deserved on his allowance, and even if he could, he knew she most likely wouldn't accept. He slumped slightly at this conclusion, watching as she attempted to balance two plates of sandwiches, two glasses of ice cold milk, and... was that a pickle jar? He couldn't contemplate this any further though, as she tripped suddenly and he had to rush forward to grab both glasses of milk AND the pickle jar just before they hit the tile flooring.

Helga managed to gain her barrings then, and once the shock of what had almost happened cleared, she let out a sigh of relief, smiling at Arnold. "Whoo! That was close. Thanks a ton, Arnold. You really saved my butt."

Arnold blushed darkly at her gratitude, offering his own small, shaky smile back. "N-No problem."

She let out a short chuckle, nodding her head in the direction of the stairs as she began walking off in that direction.

Arnold took a moment to balance his items a bit better, before stumbling off after her.

They both made their ways up the stairs, and stopped right when they made it in front of her door, a raggedy Ann doll hung out on the front with a smile stitched across her face. Helga looked down at her full hands, before glancing over at Arnold's slightly fuller hands. She grunted, swinging her leg up quick and kicking the door open, since she hadn't locked it. Helga smiled in accomplishment, gesturing for Arnold to go first.

He shook his head at her, nodding his head to show that he thought she should go first. After a second of staring, Arnold cleared his throat, looking down at the ground and muttering, "You're a girl. It would be rude if I went first." He blushed, hoping that she couldn't see.

Helga blinked at him, before shrugging and walking in as if it wasn't a big deal, which to her, it really wasn't.

Arnold bit his lip, staring down at the hard wood floors of her room connecting off with carpeting from the halls. He swallowed, lifting his foot up a bit and moving it very slowly to the inside of her room, before hesitantly setting it down. He felt a small tingle run up his leg, and he began working his other foot into the room then.

As Arnold was slowly making his way into the room, Helga was pulling out a small fold out table from her closet, setting it down in the middle of the room and unfolding it. She picked up their plates off of her night stand, before setting them down on the table, and grabbing two chairs that were sitting against the wall and setting them at the table. She plopped herself down in her seat then, setting her elbows on the table and sliding her plate over in front of herself. She looked up then, watching as Arnold was standing just inside her room with a look of pure ecstasy running across his face. She blinked, once, twice, watching him with interest.

Arnold inhaled deeply through his nose, breathing in the wonderful scents of vanilla, lilac, citrus, and even a dash of ocean breeze. How could a _room_ possibly smell so _good_? He closed his eyes, letting himself fully sink into the atmosphere before a sudden grunt broke him out of his thoughts. He blinked, looking over to see Helga giving him a slightly amused expression. She smiled, clasping her fingers together. "Arnold, not that I'm not enjoying watching you grin like an idiot in my doorway, but I'd really like to eat now, so if you don't mind." She swept her arm across the table, gesturing to the empty chair at the other end.

Arnold blushed, laughing nervously as he sauntered across the room to his chair, being careful not to make eye contact. He set a glass of milk in front of her, the pickle jar in the middle of the small table, and then sat down in his own seat with his glass of milk.

Helga smiled, before picking up her sandwich and taking a big bite out of it, washing it down with a small sip of her milk.

Arnold just stared down at his own sandwich, picking at the crust absent-mindedly, his thoughts elsewhere. Here he was, sitting in Helga's room, WITH Helga, eating a sandwich that she made specifically for HIM, and being able to call her his 'girlfriend'. He shuddered a bit in ecstasy, feeling so unworthy of such treatment from her, and yet here he was. Feeling his appetite slowly returning, and hearing his stomach rumble, he broke off a bit of the crust and nibbled on it a little. He'd never thought he'd get this far with her, though he'd definitely fantasized about it. He'd fantasized about a lot of things that he never actually thought he'd get to do in real life. And yet, out of all those fantasies, he'd never dreamt that he'd be welcome in her room. It all seemed so surreal to him.

Helga noticed him shudder once more, and frowned slightly, setting her sandwich back down on her plate. "Are you cold?"

Arnold snapped his eyes up to her, shaking his head hastily.

Helga leaned forward a little. "Are you sure? I saw you shiver."

Arnold's lips quivered a moment, before he gave her a reassuring smile. "No, really, I'm fine."

Helga stared at him a moment, before she shrugged a bit and grabbed the pickle jar from the middle of the table. "Whatever." She put a hand to the lid, twisting it. It didn't budge. She growled a little in determination, twisting it even harder and with all her might. NO pickle jar would EVER best Helga G. Pataki! She grunted at how hard she was twisting it, her muscles flexing, but her hands kept slipping! After a few more moments of this, she growled again, giving the stubborn jar a disapproving, angrylook before setting it back in the middle of the table. "Stupid jar..." She muttered under her breath, gulping down her milk mercilessly.

Arnold had to seriously fight back a grin at this display, thinking of how adorable she looked when she was angry. He chuckled a bit quietly to himself, before reaching out and grabbing the pickle jar.

Helga glanced at him, setting down her glass and frowning a bit at him. "It's no use, Arnoldo. That lid just refuses to-"

He popped the lid off with ease, setting the now open jar out in front of her with a modest, but kind smile.

Helga's jaw fell open, as she stared at the jar in disbelief. She blinked in awe, looking up at him with wide blue eyes. "How did you," She put a hand to her head, staring back down at the jar.

Arnold blushed, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Years of practice." Memories of boarders constantly rushing to him with their jars and asking him if he could open them raced through his mind.

Helga blinked once more, her shock finally beginning to fade and a grin now spreading itself across her pale face as she picked a pickle out of the jar. "Well, Arnold," She took a bite out of it. "I could seriously use you and those magic hands of yours." She pointed the pickle at him with a chuckle.

Arnold smiled at her nervously. "I don't mind."

Helga nodded slowly, eyeing him. She finished her pickle, still staring at him, and he began shifting uncomfortably under her gaze. Helga sighed. "Oh, relax, Arnold. Loosen up. It's not like I'm gonna bite you." She chuckled, shoving the last of her sandwich into her mouth.

Arnold looked at her, forcing a more confident smile to come to his face. "I'm sorry. I keep wondering if I'm dreaming."

Helga smiled at him, pushing her empty plate aside and reaching across the table to grab his hand. Arnold's eyes widened at this, as she just smiled at him and rolled the sleeve of his green sweater up, exposing the skin of his arm. Arnold shuddered a bit under her touch, his skin tingling with each spot her warm skin touched. Suddenly, though, he yelped in surprise when she pinched him, hard, right above his wrist. She smiled triumphantly, giving his hand a small pat before letting go of his hand all together. "There ya go." She grinned slightly. "That proves you're not dreaming."

Arnold rubbed the spot she pinched, though tingles of pleasure were still running up and down his arm and he had to fight off a very goofy grin despite the sharp pain still stinging slightly. _'So clever_...' He thought distractedly, giving her a loving smile. "I guess not." He said softly.

Helga's grin softened into a smile, and she had to fight a small tremor of a giggle building in her throat from that funny glow in his eyes when he looked at her.

Arnold sighed softly, gazing at her. He really hoped all this would work out. He was really going to have to work hard at charming her, wasn't he? Well, the pickle jar was a good start, he supposed. But other than that little trick, he really wasn't helping himself, was he? All he was doing was blushing and acting like a lovesick moron (Which he was). But still, he did have a full six days ahead of him. Though these thoughts didn't distract him away from admiring the girl from across the table. _'Helga..._'

After a few more moments of silence (Which Helga thought was becoming a bit awkward), Helga cleared her throat, standing up from her chair. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm getting pretty bored, and there's not much to actually do on a Sunday morning other than a lot of praying, and I'm not particularly religious, so I think it might be best that you go."

_'How could I possibly get bored with staring at you're beautiful face...?_' Arnold thought to himself in love sickness, his heart pounding. But the word 'go' brought him back to reality and he felt disappointment rise up within him, and his eyes snap fully open from their previous half-lidded position. He frowned a little, his eyes going downcast. "O-Oh..."

Helga walked over towards the door of her room, opening it up and standing off to the side so he could exit. "Yup. But I'll see you tomorrow." She added, seeing the sadness reflecting in his light green eyes.

Arnold nodded, his eyes still focused on the floor, and he stood up, dragging himself over to the door. "Of course."

Helga watched him go, her eyes growing more and more melancholy at just how bummed out he looked now... She rushed out of the room after him, and grabbed his arm to stop him. He blinked, turning around to see her giving him a comforting smile. "Helga, I-"

Before he could finish, a pair of lips suddenly came down to his cheek, and he froze, feeling sterilized all of a sudden. Helga smiled, patting him on the head and dragging his very stiff form down the rest of the stairs and out the door. She smiled at him, letting go of his arm and waving a small goodbye before closing the door completely.

Arnold stood outside the door, his eyes wide and his entire form completely rigid. The spot on his cheek her lips touched burned and throbbed, and after a good minute, it finally registered that she'd actually kissed him, and he melted against the door, no longer trusting his legs to hold him up even. He sighed a lovesick sigh, giving the door that concealed the angel a tender peck of his lips and closing his eyes as he rested there. '_She kissed me... She kissed me... She kissed me... She kissed me_...' His heart throbbed with love.

* * *

_'She kissed me... She kissed me... She kissed me_...' His mind chanted as he floated up to his room, closing the door behind him as he entered and then laying down on his bed, gazing at the clouds as they floated by. _'She kissed me... She kissed me... She kissed me_...'

Gerald burst through the door then, giving his friend a slightly incredulous look. "There you are! Man, I've been looking all over for you. Where have you been?" He asked, stomping over to his bed and staring down at him.

Arnold glanced over at him with a loopy smile. "She kissed me..."

Gerald blinked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Who kissed you?"

Arnold sighed softly in contentment, hugging himself happily. "Helga Pataki..."

Gerald gawked at him, sitting himself on his bed next to him. "No way! How'd it happen?"

Arnold sat up, swooning to himself. "She's my girlfriend..."

Gerald's eyes bugged out even more, and he grinned. "Get out! What happened?"

Arnold looked at him, his eyes aglow. "She wants to give me a chance..." He grinned goofily. "And she kissed me..."

Gerald folded his legs on his bed indian style, leaning over towards him and staring intently. "ON the LIPS?"

Arnold shook his head a little distractedly, staring off into space. "Cheek..." He put a hand to the very same one she kissed then, his stomach filling with even more butterflies at the memory of her lips against it.

Gerald's grin lessened a bit. "Oh. Well, tough break, man. But if you say she's your girlfriend now, then it sounds like some serious kissing might be in your future." He nudged him with his elbow mischievously.

Arnold laid back down, curling himself up slightly with a love struck grin. "I don't care... She kissed me..." He shuddered slightly.

Gerald nodded, but frowned a bit, realizing that his friend wasn't quite in his right mind. He sighed, getting off the bed and exiting the room. His best friend was just going to need some time to cool down. And when he did, Gerald was most definitely going to be getting the details to this whole mess.

But if it really did involve Arnold finally getting his dream girl, whatever it was must be BIG.

* * *

Helga stared at the pickle jar in her hand, a contemplative look on her face, as the phone rung repeatedly in her ear.

Finally, someone picked up, _"You've reached Rhonda Wellington Lloyd! And who might this_-"

"Cut the formalities, Princess. The deed is done." Helga cut her off, setting the jar down on her night stand and laying back on her bed, a hand behind her head as she stared out the window at the clouds passing by.

_"Oh, really? So that means_-"

"Yeah, yeah, I've made Arnold and I official." She let go of the phone a moment, letting it just sit by her ear on the pillow as she picked at her nails.

"_Perfect. So how did he react_?"

Helga chuckled. "How do you think? He was ecstatic."

"_I figured as much. Poor boy. So it's Sunday, the dare ends officially at midnight on Saturday. Everything is on schedule. So give me the details, what did you two love birds do together?_"

Helga rolled her eyes at the name. "First off, we're not 'love birds', and second, it really wasn't a big deal. I invited him over to my house, we had lunch, he left. Nothing big."

"_Oh, come now, Helga. SOMETHING interesting must have happened between you two_."

Helga paused a minute, scratching the back of her head and rolling over, the elbow connected to the hand gripping the phone supporting her head as she laid there. "Well, I guess the most interesting thing that happened was that I kissed him on the cheek, because he was just looking so bummed out over having to leave, and he went as stiff as a board." She chuckled. "Oh, and he apparently has _really_ strong hands."

_"Strong hands, huh_?" Rhonda giggled slightly.

Helga's eyes narrowed and she shot up, sticking her tongue out in disgust. "Ugh. It wasn't like that! He just got the stupid pickle jar open, that's all." She shuddered a moment. "Get your mind out of the gutter. Criminy." She shook her head.

"_Sorry, Helga, darling. You're just so boring, I had to imagine up a little spice._" She heard her chuckle. _"But really, what are you planning on doing later today_?"

Helga shrugged, laying back down on her bed and crossing her legs. "Eh, I don't know. I don't think Arnold could take much more 'us' time." She chuckled. "So I don't really have plans. Why?"

_"Well, it's still the weekend, and the beginning of Summer. Feel up to spending the night on my private yacht with the rest of the gang_?"

"All girls?" Helga questioned, raising one side of her eyebrow.

"_Actually, no. In celebration of the start of Summer Vacation, I have decided to invite all of the 5th grade class. Make overs for the girls, ghost stories for the guys, and music too. You are coming, right?_"

Helga grinned, sitting up in her bed. "Have I ever missed even ONE of your parties, Rhon'? Of course I'll be there. Doi!"

Rhonda chuckled slightly. "_That's what I thought. You can get in a little more Arnold flirting while we're there too, and **Lyle's** going to be there_..." She hinted in a sing song voice.

Helga's eyes widened, her face going blank. "Lyle?"

"Mmmhm. Just think of how jealous he's going to be when he sees you on Arnold's arm."

Helga grinned, her eyes lighting up in excitement. "Ohhh, Lloyd, this is going to be _sweet_."

"_As my parties always are, Darling_."

* * *

"Arnold, what were you thinking?" Gerald yelled scoldingly.

Arnold sat on his flip out couch, giving the boy a bewildered look. "What do you mean?"

Gerald sighed in exasperation, slapping a hand to his forehead. "You actually made a deal with Helga that you've got a week to impress her into actually wanting to be your girlfriend for real?"

Arnold blinked, nodding. "Well, yeah. What's the problem?"

Gerald let his hand drop from his head, frowning deeply at the boy with worry. "Well, what if she doesn't like you at the end of the week? What are you going to do then? I know you Arnold, and you've been nuts for that girl for years now. If things don't work out-"

"They will." Arnold assured him, crossing his arms over his chest.

"How can you know that, Arnold?"

Arnold blinked, his eyes narrowed slightly in indignation. "I just do. I know that things will work out. They will." He said firmly, nodding his head.

Gerald tilted his head at him, a sincerely concerned look coming to his face.

Arnold, seeing his look, sighed, looking away and rubbing his arm up and down.

Gerald shifted a bit in his seat uncomfortably, a new thought coming to his head. "And, Arnold," He glanced at him, before looking away nervously of what he was about to say next. "What about Lyle?"

Arnold's eyes narrowed dangerously at the name, the hand rubbing his arm stopping and now squeezing painfully into his arm (Though he didn't feel it in his anger), not even realizing he was doing it. "What about him?" He managed through his teeth.

Gerald scooted himself a bit further down the other end of the couch, away from the furious boy. "Doesn't Helga still like him?" He glanced at him nervously, afraid of his reaction.

Arnold's eyes flamed up a moment, before clearing, his hand dropping away from his arm and his hands feeling clammy all of a sudden. "I-I... I don't know." He shrugged, trying desperately to get the dreadful idea out of his head. He hadn't thought of that. Lyle was usually the furthest thing from his mind, shoved into the back of his head along with all those other things he felt were too vile to even think of. And he very rarely associated Lyle with Helga. Helga was an angel, Lyle was... Arnold wasn't sure. Some sort of disgusting specimen that kept flying around his head, and no matter how hard he tried to swat him away, he'd always elude his grasp. _Lyle_... Arnold frowned deeply.

Gerald pursed his lips together, seeing that Arnold really didn't want to talk about him, even though he knew he was a serious flaw in his plans of wooing Helga, as far as they knew. The possibilities of Helga having given up on him were very low, and Arnold had barely even been on her radar from the beginning. If Arnold wanted Helga to be his and his only, this was going to require a lot of hard work... and he was going to need all the help he could get. Gerald glanced over at Arnold, who was looking away, before setting a hand on his shoulder and smiling when he looked over to him. "Well, we'll just have to show her that you're the better choice."

Arnold blinked at him, smiling a half-smile in uncertainty. "So you'll help me?"

Gerald smiled lazily, shrugging his shoulders. "Hey, what are best friends for?"

Arnold's smile widened a bit more. "Thanks, Gerald."

Gerald grinned, patting him on the back. "No problem, buddy." He straightened up then, giving Arnold a more enthusiastic expression. "And I know just when we can set our plan in motion, too." He grabbed a piece of paper out of his shirt, uncrumpling it and holding it out for Arnold to see. "Rhonda's throwing some Summer Celebration sleep over on her yacht tonight. Boy/girl sleep overs are PERFECT for wooing the ladies." Gerald grinned smoothly.

Arnold's eyes widened a bit, as he took hold of the invitation and looked it over with wonder and interest, before a new thought popped into his head. "We're all sleeping in the same room?' He began uncertainly, "Wouldn't that be a little-"

Gerald shook his head, cutting him off. "Nah, man. Rhonda's filthy rich. Her yacht has more than one room. We're all sleeping in a separate one from the girls." He shrugged.

"Ah," Arnold nodded, folding the invitation back up neatly. "Well, great. So I'm guessing we're going?"

Gerald rolled his eyes, snatching the invitation back. "Of course we're going! Just think of it, man! Dancing, snacks, and plus I hear Rhonda's yacht has a sky light, man, and Rhonda ALWAYS plays slow songs at her parties." He grinned. "I can see it now, you dancing with Helga _slowly_, the stars twinkling up above you, the moon casting a romantic shade to the room..."

Arnold's eyes fell half-lidded at the idea, and he grabbed for his chest. "Don't do that to me, Gerald." He grinned loopily, some chuckles rising from his chest before he ended with a soft sigh.

Gerald nodded, standing up from the couch. "Exactly, man! Now we've got to get packing. We're going to need pajamas, some clothes for tomorrow, sleeping bags, tooth brushes, teddy bears - Let's move, move, move!"

* * *

**A/N: **Thank you all who took the time to read the first 12,000 words to this! The next chapter will be up when I get the chance! And yes, before anyone says anything, this story is my main focus for the moment and I will most likely not be concerning myself with anything else until it is finished and posted. Thank you!

_**REVIEW!**_

**_PLEASE!_**

**_I BEG YOU!_**

**_NOW!_**


	2. Fantasy Becomes Reality

**A/N: **Oh, I forgot a very important detail in my last A/N...

_Lyle Sawyer_ is the character creation of **NintendoGal55**, and I in no way, claim to own him. I'm not evil enough to come up with an ACTUAL male Lila anyway. XD I would have had someone replace her in the story line, but it wouldn't have been as dead on, and, in my opinion, not as powerful. Lyle Sawyer... XD Geez, that's killin' me here. OH! Or MAYBE I should say, "Vile Lyle" *Rolls around laughing* Good one, Flint!

Anyway, I thank everyone who has reviewed this story so far, especially a CERTAIN person named after a CERTAIN color who's review just happened to send me over the edge of sanity, because it was so danged hysterical. XD And now, since I am becoming infinitely more lazy, instead of review REPLIES (Don't worry, I'll still do them for my other story), I am just going to toss out shout outs to everyone who has reviewed! :D In order of who reviewed first and then who reviewed after them and so on...

**AwEsOMe PeOpLe:**

_NintendoGal55_

_Automatic Apple_

_Phantom Amethyst_

_T-Kiwi02_

_Jadeykins_

_loonytunecrazy_

_TippyToe Zombie_

_Azure129_

_Princess Diana Artemis_

_Dreamnorm_

_AnimatedBritney_

_frecklemaggie_

_angie93_

_acosta perez jose ramiro_

_RedCynic_

_Flintphone_

_Hellerick Ferlibay_

**ThAnK yOu!**

Okay, and now I would like to point out just EXACTLY what type of yacht Rhonda has. She has pretty much the biggest yacht from Wally Hermes Yachts. Look it up, man. It's gorgeous, and the PERFECT setting for this party. I was looking through yachts, trying to find the perfect one that I'd envisioned them having their little sleep over on, and this one was almost DEAD on. The only difference was that it has six bedrooms instead of just two. XD It's also got the perfect deck for my vision, and a pool and a wonderful living area that the kids can run around in. :D I've got a video of the entire yacht's inside and outside favorited on my youtube page if anyone wants to lookie! :D The link is on my page.

I was VERY tempted to have their party be on a completely different yacht, though. It's my dream yacht that I know I'll most likely never have, so if I can't have it, then I figured Rhonda Wellington Lloyd could get one, no prob. :D It's, like, the AWESOMEST thing on the water, dude. It's called "Octolus" and is by Schopfer Yachts, who are freakin' geniuses when it comes to design. Check it out! It's freakin' gorgeous! :D Plus, it's fun to look at awesome stuff you can't have. XD People are such teases for putting up pictures of this stuff. But I decided not to go with this particular yacht mainly because I found that other yacht that worked even better for the story, and because I wasn't sure how many bedrooms the Octolus has. DX Oh well.

Oh! And quick fun fact that actually isn't so fun about the Octolus: It costs over ninety-million smackaroons! That's a really hard pill to swallow right there! DX See why I said I'll most likely never own it? Geez, I can hardly save up fifty cents let alone ninety-mill!

**Disclaimer: **I, **_SuprSingr_**, in no way claim to own the rights to "_Hey Arnold_!", and respect Viacom and Nickelodeon's rights to the series. But if they just happened to blow up randomly one day, I wouldn't care, because, in my possibly slightly biased opinion, Nick is dead without that lovable football! WE LOVE YOU, CRAIG!

* * *

_**"Hey Arnold!"**_

**-The Pickle Jar-**

Arnold and Gerald boarded the large yacht, their night bags under their arms and Arnold with a very tentative smile on his face. Almost as soon as their feet hit the deck, they were greeted by a very enthusiastic Rhonda Lloyd, wearing a long, white nightgown with fluffy trim on the hem and collar. "Gerald, Arnold, darlings! So glad you could make it!" She grabbed them both in a small hug and released them just as quickly, grinning. "You're some of the first to arrive actually."

Gerald smiled coolly, setting his bag down so he could cross his arms over his chest. "Yeah, sorry for being a little early, Rhon'. We were just a little excited to see what a yacht actually looked like." He looked around, smirking. "But I guess we still don't know, because this is clearly a cruise ship."

Rhonda laughed, waving him off and wandering back into the den through the glass doors. "Oh no, Gerald, none of that smooth talk is going to work on me." She replied smoothly, picking up a tray of food off of the coffee table and turning to them. "Hors d'œuvres?" She shoved the tray towards them. (A/N: For those who don't know, that's pronounced 'Orderves')

Arnold looked upon the food, looking to vary from tiny finger sandwiches to very strange looking miniature beef wellingtons to... was that chicken? He wasn't sure. Arnold shook his head, smiling politely. "No thanks, Rhonda. I'm..." Lyle walked over suddenly, his hand coming over to grab up one of the finger sandwiches. He smiled at Rhonda brilliantly. "Thank you, Rhonda. These look wonderful." He took a small bite, walking off then to set his sleeping bag down over by the couch. Arnold's face went blank as he finished his thought dryly, "...not hungry." He walked off back onto the deck.

Gerald looked after his friend with mild concern, before turning back to Rhonda with a smile. "Not just yet, babe. But I'll be sure to try some of these delicious looking items of yours later." He flashed her a smile, before deciding Arnold probably just needed some space (Or maybe Arnold was just a TEENSY bit scary when he was angry, probably because of how rare those times were), and walking over to the spiral staircase to look for a place to put his stuff, preferably one of the multiple bedrooms Rhonda claimed this boat had.

Rhonda shrugged, setting the tray back down and walking over to properly welcome Lyle.

Arnold sat down on one of the chairs on the deck, setting his night bag down beside him so he could clench his fists. He'd forgotten _HE'D_ be here. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea...

Helga walked on deck then, dressed in a flowy, light pink night gown and her hair worn down for the occasion, her pink bow holding it in a very low ponytail that looked like it could go any minute, and the sunset reflecting beautifully off her golden hair.

Arnold stiffened at the sight, his eyes widening.

_'No, I take it back. This was definitely a good idea..._'

Arnold gulped down all his courage and stood, trying to look confident as he walked over to her. She spotted him, her purple night bag slung over her shoulder. She forced a smile upon seeing him. Arnold saw her blue eyes snap to him, and he tripped almost instantly, barely able to catch himself, though he did manage to, thank goodness. A dark blush crept onto his cheeks at her giggle, and he had to stop himself from trembling a bit at the familiar, wonderful sound. He gulped again, finally making it all the way across the deck to her. He managed a small smile. "H-Hey, Helga."

Helga just smirked at him, trying not to laugh again at that embarrassed look on his face. "Hey, Twinkle Toes. How've ya been?" She couldn't help but snicker a bit at his added blush.

Arnold laughed a bit shakily, clasping his hands behind his back. "O-Okay, I guess. Um," He took a small step towards her. "You?"

Helga shrugged her shoulders. "Eh, could complain but I won't bother you with my problems." She smirked slightly. "That's what Phoebe's for."

Arnold chuckled, before a more serious, though still more than nervous expression came to his face. "Really, Helga, if there's anything you want to talk about, I'm here."

Helga tried not to roll her eyes at the predictable statement, having heard it from so many people before. She knew they never really MEANT it, they were just being nice. Well... Lyle meant it. She tried not to giggle happily at the thought, seeing Arnold still standing right there. She cleared her throat, forcing a smile. "I'll keep that in mind, Arnold."

Arnold blinked, tilting his head at her. He could so easily see she wasn't being totally sincere, and it bothered him a bit, but he tried to shrug it off for now. It was still only the first day. Maybe she'd trust him a little more by the end of the week. He sure hoped she would. He wanted her trust more than anything. He sighed very lightly and nodded. "Good, because I mean it." He took her hand a moment, intending on kissing it, but after a very hesitant moment, he just shook it slightly and then let it go, frowning to himself. _'I know Gerald said that I might want to leave the more affectionate gestures for later, but_...' He sighed mentally.

Helga blinked, raising one side of he eyebrow for a second at the strange reaction from him. In her peripheral vision, though, she spotted a certain reddish-brown haired boy through the glass of the doors leading into the den. He was eating a finger sandwich, smiling politely at Rhonda who was seemingly blathering on about something or other. There was no telling with Rhonda. But by the way she was touching around on her nightgown, it seemed Lyle must have commented on it, which of course meant that she had to go on an hour long brag-fest on all the different colors it comes in and how she had it designed by only THE best fashion designers and how the silk was imported from some fancy, far away country. All of this didn't really concern Helga, though, as her eyes were glued solely on Lyle's smiling face. She felt her mouth go a little dry and her stomach fill up with butterflies. _'Oh my gosh... He's here. He's actually here_.' She smiled a bit of a dazed smile, before remembering Arnold's presence and snapping her eyes back to his. He was staring at the ground with an almost pouting expression, and she suddenly noticed that a pair of deep, dark green eyes were now looking at her from her peripheral vision. She froze a moment at this realization, before an idea popped into her head that had to make her smirk. She leaned a bit closer to Arnold's face, though he still didn't look at her as he seemed too involved with his sudden moping. She grunted very lightly, which seemed to get his attention as he snapped his much lighter, bright green eyes up to her own, and they widened upon seeing just how close she suddenly was. Helga smiled with half-lidded eyes, putting a hand to his cheek. "Thank you so much, Arnold! You're really just too sweet!" She said just loud enough, before she leaned in and gave him a little peck on the cheek. Once she pulled away, she glanced over inconspicuously to see Lyle blink a bit in surprise.

Arnold, meanwhile, froze for only a second this time, before he melted, slumping a bit and giving the girl a half-lidded, lovesick expression. "N-No problem, Angel."

Helga paused a moment, pursing her lips. _'Angel? Hmm... That's good. Sure hope he keeps this up_.' She giggled at him for show, petting his hair back gently. "Oh, you really are too kind..." She paused, thinking, before a more confident, if not slightly smug smile came to her face. "Honey."

Arnold's eyes widened a bit at the name, feeling his heart going in overdrive. His emotions on auto-pilot, he took a step forward and grabbed her hand, grinning. "Wow. What got into you?" He stroked her hand a little lovingly.

Helga, hoping beyond all hope that this was provoking SOME kind of possessive, jealous feelings in Lyle, just forced a very airy giggle and smiled. "Well, we are BOYFRIEND and GIRLFRIEND now, so..." She glanced over quick to see Lyle tilting his head at them somewhat curiously, before bringing her eyes back to Arnold. "I figured I might as well get into it." She twirled one of his blonde locks around her finger a moment.

Arnold had to try VERY hard to repress a shudder at her words and touch, feeling his insides all but turn to mush. He knew somewhere in the back of his head that the things running through his conscious right now were forbidden at the moment, but he couldn't quite control himself when she actually TOUCHED him. But luckily he WAS able to stick with just a little bit of his sense, as he settled with just giving her hand a few appreciative pecks, _instead_of jumping on her and throwing both of them overboard; Because that would be BAD... right? Heh, heh...

Helga bit her lip a bit, glancing over to see Lyle just shake his head a little and walk away, leaving Rhonda to stand there, giggling her head off at the display. Helga hadn't noticed her standing there. Darn. She swallowed, absently wondering if that was a 'Well, she's nuts' head shake or a 'They're too cute' head shake or maybe even a... 'I can't watch this because I might lose control and pummel that boy into the ground for even LOOKING at my woman' head shake... She looked back down at the scarily dazed Arnold before her then, still holding her hand and staring at her so... strangely adoring. Like he was admiring her, but at the same time contemplating something or questioning her. She just blinked at him, before sighing, knowing that there was no more Lyle to try and make jealous anymore. So she just slipped her hand out of his own and patted his head with a smile, before walking off, and throwing back to him, "Well, see ya inside, Arnoldo."

While Helga was busy staring over somewhere else, Arnold was just standing there watching her. For a while, he was just wondering how in the world someone's eyes could be that beautifully blue, but it was around the middle of his thoughts that he realized she wasn't looking him in the eye anymore. He blinked at that, but unable to bring himself to tear his eyes away from her, he just wondered somewhat absently what she was looking at. But once she had slipped herself away from him and back into the yacht, he finally managed to come out of his very distracting thoughts to look over curiously to try and find the source that had apparently interested Helga so. But when he looked, all he saw was Rhonda standing there, still giggling a bit to herself over something it seemed. Perhaps Helga was wondering what was so funny, just as he was now. After another second of contemplation, he just shrugged it off and walked back into the yacht's den.

He had more important things to concern himself with anyway.

* * *

About a half-hour later most of the guests had all arrived, and were all dancing and mingling around the large boat in their pajama's. Helga and Phoebe were playfully hitting eachother with the couch pillows over on the couch, Harold was over by the snack table eating anything he could get his hands on, Stinky and Sid were conversing about something over in the corner of the room, undoubtedly up to no good, Rhonda was wandering around the boat mingling with assorted people with Nadine by her side with a very persistent Peapod kid hot on her trail, Brainy was currently looking for a life preserver to toss to Eugene who had fallen overboard while searching for some fish friends, Iggy and Gerald were having some kind of 'cool' contest whilst surrounded by quite a few of their peers who were cheering, Curly was currently running around like a lunatic, his chosen sleepwear being some leopard pattern shorts, a black tank top, and some socks (Since his feet would get so cold during the night and all)...

...and then Arnold was doing what he always did at parties...

Trying to stay the heck out of everyones' way!

He was currently seated firmly on the couch right beside Helga who was having too much fun with Phoebe to care about him, so he just stayed crammed against the arm rest, a good ways away from her, as he tried his hardest to remember WHAT it was Gerald said he was supposed to be doing right now...

Oh yeah, charming Helga.

What kind of a ridiculous plan was that? What 'charms'? He was just a shrimpy little orphan kid with a very funny looking head. What kind of 'charms' could HE possibly possess? Well... Helga did seem to laugh a lot when he was around... mostly when he tripped, blushed, or stumbled (Which was a lot), which was both humiliating and intoxicating at the same time when she laughed. Leave it to Helga to make him feel like he was both floating on a cloud and wearing nothing but his underwear in public. But, really, what was he supposed to do? She was already more than content with ignoring his presence all together and having a blast with one of her best friends. He sighed at these thoughts, feeling a bit tired all of a sudden as he stood from his seat and just wandered off, figuring she wouldn't miss him.

He soon found himself sitting on the edge of the pool, his bare feet just resting in the refreshingly cool water as the sun was setting more and more with each passing minute. The beautiful streaks of orange and gold couldn't help but make Arnold smile a little, and cause his eyes to go half-lidded in that carefree gaze he found more and more fleeting with each passing year. He should have been used to being all alone like this, he shouldn't have felt so empty, but he guessed he couldn't help it.

It was moments like these he truly wondered what had become of his parents, where they were, what they were doing... why they weren't here with him making him feel better.

His eyes went downcast and a small frown found it's way onto his face, as hugged himself a little in a futile attempt at finding warmth and comfort.

He felt so alone.

The sound of the glass doors sliding open and some foot steps coming his way broke him of his reverie, and he quickly wiped some tears that had trailed down his cheeks away before the mystery person could see. He hated being like that, he hated feeling so sad. He wished he could be more uncaring about it all like Helga was about her family. But then again, Helga had friends who cared about her dearly and despite her parents neglection of her, Arnold was sure that her parents did love her deep down.

He was grateful, though, despite everything. He may not have had many friends (Gerald being pretty much the only one), his parents may not be present in his life, but he did have his grandparents and the boarders who were kind of like some wacky extended family. Probably one of the reasons he spent so much of his time locked in at his home. It was the only place he felt truly safe and secure and loved. But sometimes he couldn't help but slip back into that way of thinking where his parents had left, he hardly had any friends, and how he was madly, unconditionally in love with a girl who barely even knew he existed. He couldn't help but feel pretty alone and helpless when his mind slipped away into those thoughts...

The person sat down beside him, and he didn't glance at them. He wanted to be left alone right now. He just needed some time to think things out, maybe come up with a better strategy at wooing his way into Helga's heart. It wasn't as if she was just going to come to him and-

"Hey, Arnold, I was just wondering if you wanted to dance."

His eyes widened at the voice, and he snapped his eyes over to see Helga giving him a very anxious smile. His jaw dropped. Hadn't he just been - And now she was - and how did - and she was actually- and with-with-with _HIM_? His mind nearly short-circuited.

Helga snickered at his expression, shaking her head. "What's with the look? We are kind of dating right now." She stood up, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him into a standing position. She smiled. "So, what do you say, Romeo?"

Arnold felt a bit numb now, his mind reeling and his heart pounding and his face flushed and his hands clammy and-WHY COULDN'T HE SPEAK?

After a few more seconds of continued silence, Helga finally just sighed and gently took him by a sweaty, shaking hand and lead him back inside of the yacht, the first sounds of a slow, jazz song just meeting his ears, as he mentally noted that the lights had been dimmed and there were quite a few couples all out on the dance floor now. He didn't notice them, though, as he was too consumed in staring into that warm, blue gaze of Helga's as she led him to the middle of the dance floor.

He stood there a bit stiffly, feeling her warm arms come around his neck, and feeling her start swaying to the music. He blushed, the effects of having Helga so close to him finally hitting him as he brought his arms around her form and pulled himself a little closer to her out of instinct.

He looked up into her beautiful blue pools, feeling his heart fluttering insanely in his chest just from her mere presence, and the fact that her arms were around him and he could feel her body heat radiating off of her and onto him from her close proximity only made his heart flutter faster and harder and a batch of butterflies unleash themselves in his stomach.

He noticed Helga glance away inconspicuously a moment, and he wondered what she was looking at. He almost looked, but her eyes returning to his and her arms wrapping just a bit more firmly around his neck caused any such thoughts to fly out the window.

But in wrapping her arms more around him, Arnold suddenly noticed that her face was much closer to his than he'd first realized... and his eyes were automatically drawn to her lips then, feeling his breath catch in his throat...

He saw her lips shift slightly, as if she were glancing away again, though he couldn't fully process this through his very hazed mind at the moment. He felt her stiffen then, and he shifted his green eyes up to meet a surprised blue, and he also noticed that a very pretty blush had risen in her cheeks...

Neither noticed that they'd stopped swaying...

After a few more moments of just staring into each others eyes and their breaths coming more and more shallowly, Arnold suddenly felt he'd go insane if he had to wait any longer. So with these urgent thoughts rushing through his brain, he pushed his head forward, shutting his eyes tight and-

"CRIMINY, Arnold, WAKE UP ALREADY!"

He jolted awake at the feeling of being shaken almost violently, and his eyes flew all around to see that the lights were on, the people were dancing to up-beat music, and that he was still sitting on the couch with a very frustrated Helga gripping his shoulders and a slight scowl on her face.

He blinked rapidly. _'HUH_?' It was about this time that he realized he must have been dreaming, and he felt himself deflate instantly. _'Awwww... I just can't catch a break, can I_?' And he realized, only now on a conscious level, that Helga had once again made him feel as if he were in heaven, and then sent him straight back into heck, just like that. _'How ironic_...' He sighed. _'I can't even kiss her in my dreams, now_?'

Helga let go of his shoulders then, giving him a very annoyed look, though he noticed that a slight blush was on her cheeks. Helga let out a sigh then, her eyebrow still narrowed at him. "Thank goodness you're awake. You kept muttering my name in your sleep." Her blush got a bit bolder due to some giggles coming from some of the other girls sitting on the couch by her. She glared at them all a second. She noticed then, amidst her glaring, Lyle come inside from the deck finally, since he'd been just gazing at the stars for most of the evening now, and felt a bit of excitement rise up in her. She cleared her throat, her blush finally beginning to diminish as she brought her eyes back to Arnold's both alarmed and slightly upset ones. "Uh..." She stood up, offering him a hand. "Ya want to dance?"

Arnold's mind completely blanched out at those four, simple words, before it fired back up into overdrive and he felt a grin spread across his face as he stood up. "Okay," He took her hand, bringing her out onto the dance floor, completely ignoring the other giggling girls.

Arnold stopped just in the middle of the dance floor, turning to Helga and putting his hands on her waist without a moment's hesitation (He'd been waiting for a chance to dance with her for YEARS). Helga just put her hands on his shoulders tentatively, glancing around to try and spot Lyle again amongst the crowd. It figured Arnold had dragged them right into the middle of a bunch of people. She couldn't see any-Oh, there he was! She felt her heart flutter at the sight of him, just leaning against the wall and gazing out at the other couples contently. Helga gulped, her heart fluttering ever so gently as she stared at him.

"What do you keep looking at?"

She snapped her eyes back to Arnold's finally, who was _just_turning his head now to glance in the direction she'd just had her head turned. Panicking, she grabbed him by his chin and forced his face back to facing her's. Arnold blinked, his mouth forming a small 'o' in surprise. She laughed a bit nervously. "N-Nothing important, Honey."

And thus, he melted against her, his questioning green gaze melting away, and she mentally sighed in relief, thankful that had worked. Hearing the song speed up a little, though, and the feeling of Arnold embracing her so tightly and lovingly becoming increasingly more awkward, she began trying to dance her way out of his arms, her feet doing a multitude of different dance steps and patterns.

Arnold felt her moving out of his embrace, and pouted a bit dazedly a moment, before he felt her grab his hand and twirl him around real quick. He blinked a few times to try and fully process what had just happened and to gain back his bearings as he was a bit dizzy now, before the realization that she was currently dancing circles around him hit him and he felt himself flush. He knew she could dance, he just didn't know she could dance this GOOD... He swallowed down the urge to grab her and kiss the living daylights out of her, and just settled on beginning to dance himself, his hips moving and his feet all over the place.

Helga blinked in surprise upon seeing him join in her dancing full on, before a slightly impressed smile spread across her lips. She did a little twirl, and saw then how he, in response, smacked his heels a few times against the floor and then even managed to do a small split before coming back up fully and continuing to dance, and if she didn't know any better, she could've sworn she saw him smirk ever so slightly when he did so. Helga laughed. "Wow. Where'd you learn to dance?" She asked loudly over the music.

Arnold grabbed her hands, pulling her to him and telling her simply, "My grandma taught me." He pushed her away from him then, continuing to dance with a small, half-smile on his face as he looked at her.

Helga just laughed a little at his response. "That's a little weird. Your grandma's pretty old, isn't she? Where did she find the energy?"

Arnold had to hold back a laugh at her questions, thinking back on all the cartwheels his grandmother had done just this morning in the hallway. He shook his head. "You'd be surprised."

Helga just shrugged at his response, her dancing lightening up a bit now as the song had cooled down.

Arnold did the same, putting his hands back on her hips and swaying happily to the music. "So, where did you learn?" He blushed, his eyes shifting away shyly. "You're really good..."

Helga just smiled, shrugging her shoulders as she answered casually, "Thanks. My sister forced me to take dance classes with her a few years back." She rolled her eyes. "Despite how annoying being around Olga so much was, I actually did learn quite a few things." She placed her hands back on his shoulders, swaying.

Arnold smiled stiffly, trying not to show too much emotion at the mention of her sibling's name. He banished these thoughts from his mind, though, managing to smile a more genuine smile at her. "Well, did you at least have fun?"

Helga shrugged, her eyes half-lidded. "Eh, it was okay. Would've been better if there weren't a bunch of girly-girls in the class. But then again," She added with a snicker, "I guess I should be used to girly-girls considering I'm friends with RHONDA LLOYD."

Arnold chuckled warmly, feeling his heart flutter at her sense of humor. "Yeah, I-"

"Mind if I cut in?"

Arnold stiffened at the voice, his eyes hardening. He turned to Lyle, who was smiling in a very friendly manner at him that made his stomach churn. He narrowed his eyes slightly. "Well, actually-"

Helga let go of Arnold's shoulders instantly, already grabbing Lyle's arm and leading him away. "Thanks, Arnold!" She yelled over her shoulder, disappearing into the crowd.

Arnold frowned deeply, digging his hands violently into his pockets and wandering out of the crowd.

* * *

Later on, everyone was gathered around the flat screen television, watching a horror/romance movie, if you could believe that. The horror was for the guys, and the romance for the girls, so no one could complain.

Arnold sat uncomfortably next to his best friend, his eyes consistently being drawn to Helga and Lyle who were sitting together... pretty closely, if you asked him. He felt his heart ache and his nausea level rise, and frowned even broader as he stood up, whispering to Gerald, "I think I'm going to turn in early." He noticed Gerald was giving him a concerned look now, but he ignored it, and instead just separated himself from the crowd inconspicuously, making it up the spiral staircase and to his room, where he laid down and fell asleep almost instantly, the exhaustion from his very long day finally catching up with him.

* * *

Arnold jolted awake, his hands clammy and his heart pounding as his eyes snapped all across the room, taking in his surroundings. He noticed that a few boys had their sleeping bags set up beside his bed (Gerald being one of them), and felt himself sigh in both relief and grief from realizing it had all been a dream. He tentatively laid back down in his bed, trying to ignore any and all thoughts of his previous dream...

_'But what if this all really doesn't work out, and Helga ends up dumping me for Lyle_...?' His face paled even more at the thought, and after a few more minutes worth of thoughts much like this, he concluded to himself that sleep just wasn't going to come to him tonight. He sighed, getting out of bed and carefully stepping over all the sleeping boys, before walking drearily down the stairs, feeling his heart drop with each step.

All the lights were off, he noticed, and it sounded like everyone was asleep considering the almost deafening silence, only to be filled in by the sounds of the water they were floating on swishing back and forth every so often. Suddenly, though, as he made it to the bottom of the stairs, he noticed two figures out on the deck, standing in front of eachother. He blinked, taking a step closer as voices began drifting in from the door not being fully closed...

"B-But, I just thought... I mean, you asked me to dance and then we sat together for the movie and we were having such a good time. You keep sending out mixed signals! You like me, you don't like me, you like me, you don't like me. It never ends!"

"Helga, I've always liked you, and I'll admit I do enjoy spending time with you, but the point I'm trying to get across is that I don't _like_ you like you..."

Arnold blinked in shock, coming a few steps closer and hiding himself behind the couch, trying to ignore the pangs of guilt he felt for how he was very obviously eavesdropping.

Helga's voice drifted in, sounding very irritated and confused and even a drop of hurt in there that broke his heart, "Well, why not? You liked me before! What changed? What's wrong with me?"

"Oh, Helga, there's nothing wrong with you. I just think you're the wrong girl for _me. _And as for what changed - My feelings did. You know how these things are, Helga. People change, feelings change..."

"But we only went out for three days! You barely even gave us a chance!"

"Still, it was enough time, Helga, and I'm sorry to say that I really don't like you like that. Please understand. There are plenty of other boys that like you. I saw you and Arnold flirting just a few-"

"Oh, Lyle, forget Arnold a moment," Arnold's heart shattered. "forget Brainy, and Arnie, and anyone else who may be holding a secret torch for me. I... I only... I mean... I really like you a lot, Lyle. You're sweet and kind and thoughtful and-"

"And I don't like you like that, Helga. I can't control how I feel."

"Have you even _tried_?"

"Helga..."

"What?"

"_Helga_..."

"Fine, fine, I'm sorry..."

"It's okay. Now what I-"

"And you're so forgiving!" Did she just swoon? Arnold's eye twitched a little, and he sunk down lower behind the couch.

"Helga, listen, I think you're sweet, funny, talented, and... an all around nice girl." Arnold snorted quietly in bitterness. _'Understatement of the century. You don't deserve her_.' "But I just don't like you like that. It's as simple as that. I can't change it, and even if I could, by the way you're acting, I'm not quite sure if I even would."

"...Lyle, I-"

"I'm sorry, Helga. I didn't mean to snap at you. But you're just so frustrating sometimes."

"...I-I-"

"Listen, Helga, I really am sorry about all this. I do hope we can still be friends, though."

"Yeah... friends..."

"Goodnight, Helga." He heard footsteps coming inside and then ascending the stairs again, and luckily since it was so dark he didn't notice Arnold sitting behind the couch.

Arnold stood up when he was sure Lyle was gone, and looked over to see through the glass doors that Helga had her back turned to him. He frowned, walking quietly over to the doors. Once he did, he was almost sure he'd heard her whisper, "Night, Lyle." Arnold slid the door open, which was surprisingly quiet, and stood in the doorway mentally preparing himself. He expected tears, anger, maybe even some of that bitterness he'd unwillingly held in his own heart... but she didn't make a sound. He took a hesitant step forward, and her head turned at the sound of his footsteps. When he saw her face, he noticed that there were no tears or anything on her face, just a slightly bitter disappointment and some sadness. Still, he hated it. He offered a sad smile, and she just gave him a slightly fearful look for a second before she laughed quietly to herself, bitterly. "You hear all that?"

Arnold nodded slightly, walking the remainder of the way over to her and setting a hand on her shoulder in comfort. "I'm sorry..."

Helga just sighed, shaking her head. "Don't be. If anything, I'm the one who should be sorry. I used you to make Lyle jealous." She frowned deeply. "What kind of a person am I?" She walked away from him then and sat down on one of the plush white chairs with a slight huff, taking care not to look at him.

Arnold just sighed lightly to himself before walking over to sit down next to her, rubbing her back gently. "You're a confused person with a good heart." He smiled.

Helga blinked in shock, looking over at him with wide eyes. "What?"

Arnold blinked, before smiling again and repeating, "You're confused, but have a good heart."

Helga narrowed her eyebrow down in utter bewilderment, looking at him strangely. "Why are you still here?" He'd just found out that she'd been using him the whole time, and yet he was still here. What was wrong with him?

Arnold couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Well, I'm here trying to make you feel better over some jerk who-..." He caught himself, blushing and giving her a shameful look. "I'm sorry... I just meant, that I don't think he deserved you, anyway." He looked down at his hands in his lap.

Helga raised one side of her eyebrow, asking half-jokingly, half-seriously, "Are you trying to say that you think YOU deserve me?"

Arnold snorted slightly, laughing. "Of course not." He blushed, looking over at her again with a kind smile. "But then again, I don't think anyone really deserves you, to be honest."

Helga looked away, feeling a slight blush coming to her cheeks. "Heh, heh, thanks, I guess..."

Arnold smiled warmly at her. "You're welcome."

After a few moments of silence, Helga glanced at him somewhat hesitantly, licking her lips. "So you're not mad at me for using you?"

Arnold sighed, looking back down at his lap. "I'm not mad... just sad." He rubbed his arm.

Helga sighed this time, much more loudly than he had. "I'm sorry. I only proposed the whole 'girlfriend for a week' thing because someone dared me to be your girlfriend for a week, and originally I'd said no, but then she started talking about how it would make Lyle jealous and how if I didn't accept I'd lose my position as Queen of Pranks and..." She groaned, falling back onto the long chair. "I'm sorry I suck so much. You probably hate me now."

Arnold shook his head at her, adjusting himself so he could look down at her. "It's not that simple, Helga."

Helga blinked, looking over at him with one side of her eyebrow raised. "What do you mean?"

Arnold sighed, laying back down on the long chair beside her, and folding his arms behind his head as he gazed up at the stars. "I've been IN LOVE with you since preschool... that's SEVEN years, Helga." He looked over at her with as serious expression. "Seven years of TRYING to stop, TRYING to get over it, and every single time..." He lost his train of thought when she shifted over to laying on he side to look at him better, her head a bit closer to his than it had been before. He stared with his mouth slightly agape. Helga just sighed, snapping her fingers in front of his face. Arnold blinked a few times, coming back to reality. He chuckled in realization that he'd just drifted off into his daydreams again. He smiled at her with half-lidded eyes. "I just can't." He stroked her hair back lovingly.

Helga allowed him to do so, though there was a hint of uneasiness in her eyes, she tried to ignore her instincts at batting his hand away. He was just being affectionate, and after seven years of unrequited love, she figured he deserved a break for once. Though she hated to admit it, she did kind of like that he loved her so much. It proved she was actually worth caring about. It proved her parents wrong, and that made her feel really good. And so, she just allowed him to stroke her hair back gently, and looking at her with that caring, green gaze. Helga sighed lightly at his expression and actions, her eyes shifting down. "I'm sorry."

He blinked, finally ceasing in stroking her hair back and giving her a questioning look. "What for now?"

"For putting you through all this unrequited love stuff. If it really is worse than just getting dumped by your crush, then I can only imagine how painful that must be for you."

Arnold smiled softly at her, beginning to stroke her hair back once again. "You really don't have to apologize, Helga. You've been doing that enough tonight."

She sighed, rolling her eyes a little to herself. "Yeah, I'm sorry." She hit her forehead with the palm of her hand, shaking her head. "I'm just sleepy," She explained, letting her hand drop from her face, "and being too tired sometimes makes me overly sappy."

Arnold chuckled, turning over on his own side to look at her. "Well, I kind of like it. It's cute." He blushed, glancing away.

Helga stared at him, blinking her eyes in amazement. "You really do love me, don't you?"

Arnold snapped his light green eyes to her, raising a very incredulous eyebrow at her. "At this point, you're really going to ask me that?"

Helga chuckled, rolling back over on her back, a hand behind her head as her other hand scratched her stomach. "Well, I don't know. I know I always said that you loved me and everything, it's just that it... it never really seemed REAL. I mean, why would anyone really fall for me? It's not like I have anything really great to offer. I mean, Brainy likes me, but I honestly don't think he's really in love or anything. I'm pretty sure that's just a crush, but I don't know. And then there's your cousin, Arnie. That was DEFINITELY just a crush-"

"Arnie is not my cousin anymore." Arnold interjected firmly, a large frown on his face.

Helga laughed, remembering back when Arnie had confessed that he loved her and then started dragging her all over the place on "dates", despite her horrific answer of "NO WAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Arnold had been supremely jealous and angry on the whole thing, especially since Arnie KNEW that he was in love with her. Helga could only imagine the horrible things they must have done to each other when Arnie got home. Two boys who liked the same girl being under the same roof could definitely _not_ be a good thing.

Getting back on track, though, Helga looked over at him with an amused shake of her head. "Yeah, that whole experience was horrible for BOTH of us, trust me." She winked, giggling slightly. "But as I was saying, I'm pretty sure he just had a crush on me, 'cause he got over it pretty quickly it seemed. But _you_," She looked at him strangely, yet with some awe mixed in there. "you really do seem to love me."

Arnold smiled warmly, wanting so badly to hold her right then, though he managed to hold himself back. "Well, of course I do. You're sweet, and kind, and caring, and funny, and witty, and talented, and passionate, and beautiful, and..." He sighed dreamily. "You're perfect." He murmured dreamily, scooting closer to her unconsciously.

Helga, a massive blush on her cheeks, laughed a little in nervousness and embarrassment. "I'm not perfect, Arnold. I've got flaws, you know. And a LOT of them, too."

Arnold laughed softly, the lovesickness still glowing in his eyes as he gazed at her. "I know that, Helga. But your flaws only help to make you even more charming." He scooted closer to her.

Helga gulped, realizing how close he was getting, and scooted herself away from him. She laughed nervously. "Heh, heh, heh... I've never heard it put quite like that before."

Arnold sighed softly, scooting closer and humming in the back of his throat. "You know, Helga..." He played with some of her hair absent-mindedly, twirling it around his fingers as he gazed at her. "I never did understand what you saw in Lyle. He's nice, I guess, but..." He sniffed her hair, sighing blissfully. "What shampoo do you use?" He asked in a very dazed sounding voice, completely forgetting about what he was talking about.

Helga eyed him uncomfortably, twitching at how close he was and how he kept smelling her hair. _'I wonder if he knows how creepy he is sometimes_...' "Uh... I can't remember the name. It's some fruity smelling junk." She shrugged. "But I like Lyle because he's honest, and kind, and very thoughtful, and handsome, and sweet, and-"

"_Helga_..." Arnold moaned sadly, his green eyes looking almost gray.

Helga blinked, coming out of her daydreams. She smiled apologetically at him, patting his cheek quick to try and comfort him. "Sorry. But don't worry. It's not like anything can come of it anyway." She sighed sadly, before groaning slightly in frustration, and narrowing her unibrow up at the sky. "I just don't understand why he doesn't like me. He used to. What did I do wrong?" She looked over at Arnold.

Arnold could see in her eyes that she was seeking some kind of security and understanding, and the fact that she was asking him for it made his heart swell. He smiled at her with soft eyes. "You didn't do anything wrong, Helga. It's not your fault he can't see what a wonderful person you are." He sighed softly again, his eyes going half-lidded and his heart pounding at all his thoughts of Helga.

Helga noticed the look in his eyes, and frowned lightly, snapping her fingers again. "No, Arnold, stay with me here."

He blinked, his eyes going wide. He blushed darkly, glancing away. "I'm sorry..."

Helga eyed him, before shaking her head with an amused, half-smile. "You know, you daydream an awful lot."

Arnold shrugged, the blush not completely gone from his face. "I-I know. I can't help it." He looked at her, his eyes going half-lidded again in that dreamy gaze. "You have that effect on me."

Helga quirked her mouth to one side, seeing how he was lost again. "I _see_." She smacked his cheek with the palm of her hand, causing him to yelp slightly and give her a questioning look, rubbing his cheek. She laughed at his reaction, smirking at him. "But can you keep your large head out of the clouds long enough to make me feel a little better here? You didn't just get dumped by the person you thought you were destined for." She giggled.

Arnold looked her over, still rubbing the cheek she'd just hit. "You don't seem all that sad to me..." His hand dropped from his cheek, a small frown now crossing his face. "And in a way, I did just get dumped by the person I love." He caught himself about to sigh miserably, and blinked, forcing a smile to come to his face as he looked at her. This wasn't about him. She mattered a lot more, and the last thing he wanted from her was pity... "But really, do you think you'll be okay?" A genuinely concerned look came to his face.

Helga couldn't help but stare at him, realizing he was right. She'd just been rejected (AGAIN) by a guy she'd had a crush on for only about four months... and HE'D just gotten the girl he'd been in love with for seven years to give him a chance finally and be his girlfriend, find out he was being used and the whole thing was just a joke, and have his heart broken all in the same day... And to think _she_ was complaining... and yet he was still more concerned about HER. She gaped at him slightly. Since WHEN was anyone this nice? "I'll be fine, Arnold." She heard herself say, and blinked in surprise at her automatic answer. She paused a moment, realizing that that was right... She really did feel like she'd be okay. Lyle was just a crush. She didn't want a crush. She wanted love. Despite seeing that painful tint to the boy's green eyes, she could also see this strange happiness jutting around in there too. Love definitely seemed more appealing to her. She sat up, her elbow supporting her as she pointed a firm finger at him. "But _you_ won't be will you?"

Arnold blinked in surprise, giving her a questioning look. "Helga, I don't-"

"Tell me you're okay with us breaking up." She narrowed her eyes at him, the finger still in his face.

Arnold gaped at her, stammering for a way out of this conversation, "H-Helga, I - I mean, i-it's okay, really. I'll... I'll..." His eyes darted around. He didn't want to talk about this. He didn't want to burden her with his problems when she had her own, much more important ones.

Helga frowned, her finger finally falling from his face. "You see? You can't even say it."

Arnold was about to stammer another excuse, but he stopped himself and sighed, looking up at her in exasperation. "Please, Helga, I don't want you to worry about me. I'll deal with it, you don't-"

Helga put a finger to his mouth, silencing him, as a small smile fell across her face. "And that's exactly why I'm not going to break up with you."

Arnold's eyes widened, as he stared at her unblinking in incomprehension. Had he heard her right? "You're what?" He asked quietly.

Helga smirked at him, sitting up all the way and crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm not going to break up with you. Our deal is still on. Only this time instead of one measly little week, how does a month sound? The week will just be a formality, you know, so I don't lose the bet and lose my rightful role as Queen of Pranks. So you've got one month, and we can do all the usual boyfriend/girlfriend stuff. Go on dates, spend lots of time together, and bla bla bla. But I will need my space, because you can get a little weird if I stay around you too long. So if I say I need to go, don't question me. And at the end of the month, if I like you enough to want to keep spending time with you, we'll continue dating. How does that sound, huh?"

Arnold stared at her. His jaw had dropped somewhere during her proposition, and he'd pinched himself in the middle of all that to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Thankfully, he wasn't, though he guessed he should've known that already, otherwise they would have gotten to the making out a _LONG_ time ago. But his brain had all but shut down, and he couldn't feel his lungs responding, so he guessed he must have stopped breathing. The silence was deafening, but he just couldn't find his voice. So he did the only thing he could think to do.

He sat up next to her slowly, staring at her a moment longer before he flew forward and wrapped his arms around her happily, hugging her with all his might.

Helga gasped in surprise when he hugged her, before a smile came to her face at the sound of him-... What _was_ that sound? Did he just _SWOON_? She couldn't help the roll of chuckles that bubbled up from her chest, hugging him back.

Arnold tightened his grip on her briefly, before he pulled back and grinned at her, giving her a huge kiss on the cheek. "Oh, thank you, Helga! I promise you won't regret it!" A thought occured to him then, and he shifted in her loose arms to look down at his watch, seeing how late it was. "Oh no." He looked up at her in concern. "We should really go to bed, Helga." He stood up, walking over to the sliding glass doors, waiting for her.

Helga, a blush on her cheeks from him so unexpectedly kissing her (Which was strange, since she rarely ever blushed), stood up from the chair and wandered over to him. But before she could reach to open the door, Arnold opened it up for her and gestured her to go inside with a smile. Her blush got stronger, and she walked inside, hearing his footsteps following after.

This had been a _very_ interesting day for both kids, and as Arnold kissed her hand sweetly and then wandered back into his room, Helga couldn't help but think she'd made the right choice in still giving him a chance.

Only time would tell if she was right.

* * *

**A/N: **SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD! This only reached about 9,000 words! D: I wanted it to be another 12,000, but I felt like this was the perfect spot to end this chapter. So I had to! DX

Oh well. 9,000 words is still a pretty amazingly long of a chapter for me to write, so I guess I shouldn't complain. I got the next chapter up! Yay! :D

Also, I'd like to comment real quick on how the first chapter recieved 17 reviews... :O Wow. You people really like this! Oh, huzzah! Please, if you liked this chapter also, please repeat your previous actions and...

_**REVIEW!**_


	3. NOT A NEW CHAPTER JUST READ

NOT A NEW CHAPTER! NOT A NEW CHAPTER!

*Clears throat* Okay, this... is just a notice I'm putting in to tell you guys what's going on with this story. Because I'm STILL getting reviews and messages from people begging me to update. I'd love to and BELIEVE me when I say it's killing me not to, but it's only for a while but... This story is on hiatus.

*DUN DUN DUUUUUUUN*

Yes, it's true. But there's good reason for it! You see, while I was writing this fic, I kept having to come up with stuff that happened in the past to flesh this story out more... Like the ArniexHelgaxArnold deal... the ArnoldxLilaxHelgaxLyle deal... the 'I've been in love with her for seven years' deal... the LilaxLyle deal... and not ALL those x's are romantic, just so you know. Lyle and Lila are brother and sister (*gag*). But the point is, my head has been bombarded with so much inspiration for stuff that happened BEFORE "The Pickle Jar" that it's amazing I've been able to sleep at all! And it got me thinking like, "TPJ is kinda like TJM in HA!, right...? Well then, pfft, TJM never could have happened without the HA! series. That would have been stupid, and no one would have understood what was going on." And since I don't want to be writing about how the chicken fled the coop BEFORE the chicken was BORN, I've started work on a new fic called, "The Pickle Jar: The Series." Excited yet? :D :D :D

*Cricket chirps in background*

Yes, well... *Clears throat* I put a poll up before I began work, talked to my friends, and they all pretty much agreed it was a great idea so if you disagree, then I don't know what to say. I'm sorry. ^^; But the point is, click on my profile, and look for "The Pickle Jar The Series." It's already started, I have the prologue up AND the first episode, and the second one is already in progress, so go check it out! And DON'T forget to review, please! Reviews have been real slow lately and it's been really bumming me out. Review and I'll give you a cookie! :D *Waves cookies in front of your nose* }:D

So... yeah. I'll start work on "The Pickle Jar" again as soon as the series is over. And don't worry, I'm not writing EVERY HA! episode, just the ones that actually significantly change, i.e. "Arnold's Hat," "Arnold's Valentine," "Helga's Makeover," "Arnold and Lila," etc. Just... a LOT of changes, but they're gonna be fun, so no worries. ;) I'm especially looking forward to "Arnold and Lila," because it's going to be renamed "Helga and Lyle," and well... Lyle is awesome. XD A very flat character, very manipulative, pretty much just like Lila only a dude, but he IS a teensy bit different and plus... he's a guy... and he's hot... XD Well, eh, as far as male Lila's go anyway. I never considered Lila very pretty anyway. She kinda always just reminded me of Pippy Longstocking. XD Which I know is a bit of an insult to Pippy, because she's so fleshed out and original and Lila is... not, but I digress. *Shrugs* XD I guess the point I'm trying to make is Lila would look WAY better if she was a guy. *Breaks out in laughter* Okay, I'm getting WAY off topic and I'm being really mean to Lila. XD I don't have anything against her, really! But... well, come on, you gotta admit that was funny. XD

Bye for now! And don't forget to check out my new fic, "The Pickle Jar: The Series!"

~**_SuprSingr_**


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